School leaders no longer have to worry about getting an “F” grade on the state report card, because the “A-F” system of rating districts will cease to exist in late 2022.

Instead, district successes or failures will be graded on a five-star system, detailing whether a district achieved the state’s requirements in six areas currently measured to rate schools, including overall achievement on tests, literacy and graduation rates.

“Next to the stars will be descriptions stating whether districts need significant assistance in achieving what is required in the category, are meeting established standards or are doing exceptionally well in preparing their students,” state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, said. “We are trying to make the report card a lot more informative. Very few people could understand it.”

Locally, LaBrae Superintendent Anthony J. Calderone said he has to review the changes being made to the report card system.

“I will only say that the report card system seems to change frequently, and when stakeholders get comfortable understanding the report card and how the grades or ratings are determined, another change or overhaul gets enacted,” Calderone said. “The lack of continuity at times is disconcerting.”

Denise Dick, spokeswoman for Youngstown City Schools, said regardless of the system used, the district’s goal will be to improve the academic performance of its students.

“As far as we know, the way we report the data won’t change,” she said. “As I understand it, the change will be in how the information is presented by the state in the annual report cards. This is still new, and we expect more details and information to emerge in the coming months.”

Regina Teutsch, executive director of curriculum and instruction with the Warren City Schools, said the district awaits guidance from the Ohio Department of Education to determine its approach going forward with the state report card.

SPONSOR’S OPINION

Jones, one of the new report card’s sponsors, said the version being eliminated too often highlighted the negatives happening in school districts. He suggested people too often felt a district receiving a “C” grade was not getting the job done, so considered it a bad grade.

With each star having a descriptor next to it, readers will know that a school receiving a three-star rating actually achieved the state’s requirements.

“Districts achieving a four-star rating surpassed the state’s requirements and those receiving two stars or below need assistance,” he said.

Jones was not an initial supporter of using stars, but agreed to them so long as descriptors are included in report cards so educators and residents know what is being looked at.

Another aspect of the bill will be a revamping of the “Prepared for Success” category.

“That was big,” Jones said. “It will be replaced. Success for one student is different from what may be considered a success for another student. Some students are prepared to go directly into their careers, some to the military and others for college.”

The change is expected to bring additional clarity.

“As is consistent with nearly 80 percent of the public schools across the state in the receipt of a failing grade in Prepared for Success, we do believe this change to the category has the potential to provide clarity,” Teutsch said.

CHANGES

Ohio Department of Education’s Chris Woolard said the compromise bill signed by the governor aligns with many of the elements that ODE staff a few years ago recommended should be a part of a new report card system.

“People have been talking about revamping the state report card for many years, including the elimination of the A to F grades,” Woolard, senior executive director for performance and impact, said. “There will be improvement and simplification of the data presented.”

The ODE is working on the new report cards. They will require end-of-course exams in science, American history and American government, as well as certain substitute exams in science, American history and American government, to be included in the calculations of the performance index score for a district or school building.

The state board of education, in consultation with stakeholders and advocates, has to adopt rules for the report cards by March 31, 2022, to establish the performance criteria, benchmarks and rating systems necessary to implement the report card, including the method to assign performance ratings.

NO CONSEQUENCES

A report card will be issued by the ODE in October, but it will not have grades. It simply will present data of what occurred over the last school year.

“There will be no consequences to the information in that report card,” he said.

Information for the new report card will begin in September, which will be the 2021-22 school year. The report card results will be issued in September 2022.

Woolard said some aspects of the new report card will be phased in over several years to allow the state to collect sufficient data.

Although the Ohio School Boards Association generally supports the new report card as an improvement over the existing one, the organization believes more work must be done to continue its progress, according to Nicole Piscitani, a lobbyist for the OSBA.

“The new report card will be much more detailed in its description of the each category, so readers will understand how a school district is doing as they read through it,” she said.

Under the new report card system, a review committee will study what is in the report card to determine what has, and has not been, effective, so changes may be made. A report must be issued buy Dec. 31, 2024.

“We wish we could have a seat on that committee,” Piscitani said.

rsmith@tribtoday.com